getting ahead we ask what can they do to break through the glass ceiling. and then face it when we'll have that for you and all the day's business stories after this very short break and i'll see you again at the top of the hour. frank food to help launch international gateway into the best connection self you know road and radio. located in the heart of europe you are connected to the whole world. experience outstanding shopping and dining offers and try our services.

6:16 pm

be allat gast trend food city managed by from. w.'s program guide on the internet highlights. the whole. dot com highlights. the people at the men still rule the roost in corporate germany a new study shows the quota system is getting all women into executive positions but nowhere near enough. plastic micro beans money spinners for the cosmetics industry at the brits a batting them. and if you grab a cap to this year's c.b.s. trade show in las vegas a copy may just be autonomous do you trust the technology. it's been no.

6:17 pm

three years since germany introduced a quota for women on corporate boards and been physical and let's do business the quota calls for thirty percent of new executives to be women the study by consultancy y. shows there are indeed more women on german boards than ever before of course accounting for over seventy percent of top managers but even as chancellor angela merkel pushes for more female representation it's mid-cap companies that make up the m.d.x. that have fallen behind less than one in five of them has any female board members at all. yes i'll just tell you who's the leader is managing director of the german association of women on from her nose we're talking about such a high tech society here in germany the us in many countries but we still have value women's input. i wouldn't say we don't value them but they are obviously they're not visible enough so far so there is a big resistance in our culture and our society saw that there are still women

6:18 pm

backing at the top of the bottom why the resistance it's a very conservative culture so it's specially in comparison with other countries you see that germany is not though we have a women in a political leader as a political leader but still there in the companies it's a different it's a different world with jaques companies representation to twelve point nine percent that's an improvement the end x. those only have four point four percent the mid-cap companies what's going wrong there. i'd say the m. docs is a very good example of german of german companies of the economy of german economy so and this tells the story of a very conservative society so they are role models lacking there are not enough women on the supervisory board it's there are not enough women on the in the top leadership level levels so and this is a big problem britain's equalities watch dog is asking the b.b.c. to reveal its policy

6:19 pm

a female editor recently resigned you would have seen this in the news claiming it paid two men fifty percent more for the same job condemning a secretive and illegal culture when it comes to pate. do you agree is that what we're dealing with here is that what it is an illegal and secretive pay culture and companies. possibly there is this culture or at least the figures tell selves so there is a gender pay gap this has to be acknowledged and there are different reasons for this pay gap it's also the way women choose their their career so they are not in the leadership positions and they are in jobs that are less paid but it's also that in the same job they are less paid and this issue needs to be addressed and definitely transparency helps why is it illegal though in in quite a few countries now but only enforceable in

6:20 pm

a very few iceland being one of the trailblazers there it actually requires companies to print up a pay list and justify why they are paying certain people what we have the transparency whatever it comes to companies with the with the unions ruling these the wages but of course we need a flexibility in san luis and we need flexibility in pace in and in wages so i think. it's a balance between transparency on the one hand side and bureaucracy for the companies on the other ok well let's bring in our asia correspondent andrea and she's standing by for us there in singapore is the picture any different in your part of the world andrea. it's not that much different then a lot of these court does the i they don't exist on not very heavy enforced a report says that asia is in fact lagging behind its international counterparts in

6:21 pm

terms of gender diversity in the board of directors of any companies within asia and the get is still very much white open according to analysts this points to two things one being the number of women who are bored ready to speak and number two whether there is a big enough pool of board ready women to pick from to begin with ok so it's a gradual process is that what you're getting at what what else have you discovered as far as asia goes in the corporate world and the makeup of the globalized world well in countries like in cities like hong kong and singapore for example two of the most advanced asian economies a number of women on boards surprisingly is surprisingly low at twelve point four percent that number is in hong kong as of twenty eight seventeen there is a severe gender wage gap in singapore for example women on board senior management

6:22 pm

women earning just fifty six point eight percent of what their male counterparts that being said there is a gradual increase that is progression singapore for example is aiming to have thirty percent more women to be on the who make up the boards by the year twenty thirty in malaysia for example there already is an enforced study percent quota for women to be on the board of directors and that number jumped from nine point seven percent to now fourteen point six percent as of twenty seventeen ok just one more word from you claudia very briefly if you can what can women do to change the situation. they they need to apply for the for the top positions of course they need for promotion they need to ask for higher wages but at least i would say it's not a question of women only but it's a question of society so if they are improvements definitely they are but they are if the glass if there are cracks in the glass ceiling i would say they are not

6:23 pm

visible yet they are too small to be to be seen ok thank you very much interesting debate andrea thank you for your input from singapore and claudio thank you very much for your analysis as well the british government is banning the use of microscopic plastic beads they used as a braces in health and beauty products so by multinational companies but the tiny plastic goes down household drains and has water supplies and the food chain ending up inside us. in this ocean lies an invisible threat might create be the plastic particles can be found in face scrubs toothpaste and shower gel and a deadly from rain life but now the u.k. is taking action the country has banned the manufacturing of products containing micro beets and will stop sales later this year it marks a move beyond regulating plastic packaging on the outside to managing the use of non degradable plastics as chilling gradients within products. we've recommended

6:24 pm

the latte leftie because of the recyclability of coffee cups and we've also recommended that producers who make whole to recycle products hold. paper in plastic products should be forced to pay more for them there are many biodegradable replacements for plastic micro beefs but they are mostly found in the more expensive brands. we've got pumice powder here which we use in body products it's a little bit more exposed uniting and we've got ground rice powder which we use in our facial scrubs as well and the benefits of these because we've never used plastic they're all biodegradable if they break down in the oceans they don't get into the food chain and we don't end up eating them the ban could also mean future changes for companies who make cleaning products due to the widespread use of microbial. and three the consumer electronics show in las vegas is competing more and more with the big motor shows because the driverless cars of the future

6:25 pm

a packed full of tech which is why they featured so prominently at the trade fair even before you get there. tito paean vision of a driverless future is already taking shape before a visit even reaches the c.e.o.'s. self driving taxis like this b.m.w. awaiting to take them there for now there's still a human driver on hand for emergencies but on this trip he's not needed. it has three l. sixty degree sensing sensing light all sensing and vision and the fuse that information together so we combine basically the readings and we track all the objects along i don't often get when this toyota goes into service there'll be no need for human backup it's a joint development between amazon and pizza hut. the transporter can carry twenty

6:26 pm

passengers but it can also double as a mobile office called a bar a tree or even a delivery van it comes in sixteen different versions expected to debut at the tokyo olympics in twenty twenty toyota says it's on course for the future. is changing quickly and the race is on. germany's mercedes is opting for private automobiles the luxury car makers strategy includes on board driver entertainment with highly promising artificial intelligence it should hit the road inside two months if you are driving at it in the morning at seven o'clock to your office why do you have to type in your address in the vehicle at seven in the morning or do you have to ask why the car doesn't tell you on your own that i've bought and set your navigation to your office address and it gets get into the car and it just drives the way you drive it and you don't have to interact with the navigation

6:27 pm

system at all comparable dies pictures the next zero s u v powered by a fuel cell it converts hydrogen into electricity to drive the vehicle emitting only steam the next. main advantage of a standard battery driven there's a tide gen can be pumped as fast as petrol the drawback is that there aren't many hydrogen filling stations yet. which have a model comes to dominate future mobility the chances are it's already on show at this year's c.s. . and the race is on for me to get hired by business but if you. are going to. continue. to. move.

6:28 pm

move move move move move move move move. move move. move. move. move. injured in the conflict zone a new president has taken the oath of office in zimbabwe to see any different from the old one my guest here in london is naked by one of the u.k. representative of the country's ruling zanu p.f. policy with thirty five years of bloodshed only on the economy to grow it was told business today have continued to govern.

6:29 pm

when i'm travelling to be comfortable. but i also want to stay up to date on the latest news of the. and d.-w. makes that part of traveling easy because it's available and thousands of her talents resorts and cruise ships worldwide. have you found inside. that church d.w. in your room you can price d.w. dot com travel quids. has no children which makes her feel worthless and incomplete. in a society that expects them to bear children this is a burden many childless women in niger suffer from. a wife is only fully accepted

6:30 pm

upon motherhood. a very personal film about the suffering of childless women. starting january fourteenth on t w. a new president has taken the oath of office in zimbabwe but you see any different from the old one my guest here in london is nick mangwana the u.k. representative of the country's ruling zanu p.f. party with thirty five years of bloodshed on their hands massive corruption and an economy in ruins what business have they got continuing to govern.